Good karma bonanza

After coffee and banana bread we headed off at 5.30 am to offer alms to the local monks. The village provides all the food eaten by the monks and the "parade" happens every day. Giving alms is supposed to provide good karma to the giver. I understand there are 400 monks, but we were a little late and missed the first hundred or so. We were given a bamboo basket of sticky rice, a mat to kneel on and a checked scarf to wrap around our shoulders. We could see the line of orange clad, barefoot monks approaching so we took off our shoes and knelt down. The monks' ages ranged from quite young (8?) to middle aged. Each had a metal pot that they carried over their shoulder. As they filed by we put a small handful of sticky rice into each pot. They walked pretty quickly so it was a bit of a challenge - especially since women are not allowed to touch the monks. Flynn prepared between the groups by pre rolling the rice into balls. It was a fascinating experience but very hard on the knees.

We then climbed Mount Phou Si. There were about 400 steps and I am feeling the climb now....it was very beautiful however our camera battery ran out and I am photo less for the time being. After a quick stop at the hotel for breakfast and a change into fresh clothing, we headed off again - this time to the living land rice farm. This is an organic community farm and we were walked through all the stages of rice production. The boys all walked behind the water buffalo with the plough and even I waded into the mud to plant rice. One of our party fell in - not a good experience - and we all walked VERY carefully after that. The amount of work required to grow and harvest rice by hand / simple machine is incredible and we are all feeling a little guilty about wasting food. We finished off the farm experience with a tasting plate of rice treats.

We stopped at a small waterfall to eat a packed lunch (not good) and then continued to a bigger waterfall for some photos and a little bush walk. There was a bear rescue centre at the end of the walk, prompting a few versions of "the bear necessities". Our last stop was a school for hearing impaired children. Each family stood up and the children used sign language to describe us. My fringe was too long, Josh had a big nose, Campbell had a mole on his face and Flynn had cute dimples. We handed out treats to the children - fruit, snacks and some colouring books, stickers and pencils that people in the know had purchased. It was a little sad. We were told that the deafness us a result of inbreeding in the village families. The children live at the school full time although they go home in the summer. There is no programme to teach the sigh language to the families back home. 

After a swim and a refresh at the hotel, we took a quick trip in to the night markets. The guides gave us  $5 each to buy a "white elephant" gift. The markets were fun and everything was amazingly cheap. Our ride home was in a tuk tuk. We finished off the night with a buffet dinner by the pool and the white elephsnt game. Both Josh and I managed to end up with the presents we had bought (a lantern and a hat) and we were both very happy. Flynn scored a ridiculous hat, which he likes and Campbell ended up with a little frog that croaks. 

After a day of giving gifts we hope we have earned many good Karma points.